ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Zach Nagelvoort(Holland, Mich.), a 6-foot-2, 190-pound goaltender, signed his National Letter of Intent with the University of Michigan ice hockey team and will be joining the Wolverines for the 2013-14 season.

"Zach is a big, strong, athletic goaltender and handles the puck extremely well," said Billy Powers, associate head coach. "He played with the midget-minor U-16 Compuware team with (Jacob) Trouba and (Andrew) Copp."

"I grew up a Wolverine fan," said Nagelvoort. "My grandmother had season tickets so I spent a lot of time watching and hoping that one day I would have the opportunity to go to school and play there."

In early February, Nagelvoort was traded from the Soo Eagles in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., to the Aberdeen (South Dakota) Wings of the North American Hockey League. He was an immediate help to the downtrodden Wings, providing the spark that almost took the team to the NAHL playoffs. The Wings were 0-18 in December.

With Aberdeen, Nagelvoort was named Goalie of the Month and Goalie of the Week by the NAHL, going 8-1-1 with a .949 save percentage and 1.66 goals-against average. He had a 9-5-1 record with a 2.37 GAA and .927 save percentage as the Soo Eagles goaltender.

Combining his efforts with both teams, Nagelvoort posted a 17-6-2 record with a 2.10 GAA and .936 save percentage. The 2.10 GAA was the third best for the all goalies in the NAHL this past season.

Nagelvoort is also the grandson of Dr. Paul W. Gikas, University of Michigan professor emeritus of pathology and a former faculty representative for the U-M Athletic Department.

From 1982-88, Dr. Gikas was faculty representative for intercollegiate athletics to the Big Ten Conference and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). During that time, he served on several NCAA and Big Ten committees, which addressed such issues as drug abuse, alcohol awareness, drug testing and safety standards. Since 1990, Dr. Gikas has also served the U-M Medical School as assistant dean for admissions.